The new Yarmouth to Portland, Maine ferry will cost Nova Scotia $23.3 million in its inaugural year.
The government revealed the number at a press conference with Bay Ferries Chairman and CEO Mark MacDonald. Its also confirming the company will be leasing the American navy ship the HST 2, and its reviving the name of the ferry that used to operate between Bar Harbour, ME and Yarmouth – saying “the CAT is back.”
In year one, the government will pay $10.2 million for operating costs, $4.1 million for start-up costs, and $9 million for the ferry’s retrofit, according to government officials. The costs are estimated on the route serving 60,000 passengers in the first year.
If sales are lower than expected, taxpayers will be on the hook for more money, according to the contract between Bay Ferries and the government.
There is no cap on how high the government subsidy can go, however it’s projected to sit at $9.4 million in the second year. There are no projections for the subsequent eight years of the contract.
“There is no ferry service that I know of that doesn’t require some public assistance,” Premier Stephen McNeil said, when asked earlier Thursday about the public dollars going to the ferry.
However the Progressive Conservatives say the government subsidy for the ferry should be much lower and be capped.
“Its a stupid deal, its a deal signed by a desperate, incompetent government,” Tory MLA Tim Houston said. “This contract will be into the hundreds of millions of dollars before its said and done.”
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The new ferry will hold between 700-750 passengers and can hold up to 282 cars, MacDonald said. It will accommodate tour buses but not transport trucks.
The CAT will have an American crew, sail under the U.S. flag and also be retrofitted in an American shipyard prior to starting the sailing season.
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The height of the dock in Yarmouth will have to be modified as the vehicle deck on the CAT sits higher out of the water than the previous Nova Star ferry’s did, MacDonald said.
The navy’s ship is on contract for up to four years. If the ship is changed after that the province will be on the hook for any new start-up costs and retrofits for a replacement.
The new ferry isn’t expected to be in Yarmouth until June. Crew are expected to have a training program in the week before it enters into service for the season.
Last year, the government gave Nova Star Cruises $13 million for the service, a number that minister Geoff MacLellan says would have ballooned further if they hadn’t cut them off.